Kendall Dove allowed one run in five innings to earn the victory Sunday as UTSA swept three games from Dallas Baptist. – Courtesy photo from UTSA athletics
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Josh Arquette stroked two hits and produced three RBIs Sunday as undefeated and record-setting UTSA downed the Dallas Baptist Patriots 6-3 to sweep a three-game series between mid-major powers in college baseball.
A crowd of 1,049 at Roadrunner Field watched as UTSA improved to 7-0, the best record after seven games in program history. Another record was set with 3,048 in attendance for the three games.
Roadrunners starter Kendall Dove started and worked five innings, giving up only one run on five hits, to earn the victory.
Reliever Gunnar Brown, making his second appearance in two days, was almost as effective in pitching the last four innings for the save.
He yielded two runs on five hits, a day after UTSA’s 10-8 victory, in which he earned the win in 2/3 of an inning.
A bit of drama unfolded in the last inning Sunday when Brown issued one-out walks to Jake Bennett and Ben Tryon, who both later advanced on a wild pitch.
With runners at second and third, Brown responded by striking out Chayton Krauss on a check swing. Finally, he retired slugger Ryan Martin on a long fly ball to right field to end it.
UTSA coach Pat Hallmark praised his players for evolving into “a complete team” in winning the finale against the Patriots, who fell to 4-3.
“We looked like a very good baseball team today” he said. “We pitched it. We put together grown-up bats versus good pitching in conditions that were not conducive to hitting.
“We played good defense. We ran the bases (well). It was a just a very complete game. It’s one that’ll make a coach pleased.”
Hallmark raised an eyebrow when he was asked what it means to start the season 7-0.
“It means we’re OK,” he said. “It means we got a decent team. But, again, we want to improve. We’re always looking forward …. We’re looking to improve, but 7-0 is better than anything else.”
After winning seven straight at home by a combined score of 81-32, the Roadrunners play their first road game Tuesday night in San Marcos against the I-35 rival Texas State Bobcats.
“(They are) a good team and they’re good fans,” Hallmark said. “They love their team, and they mostly hate UTSA, and that’s OK. That’s what fans are supposed to do.”
On a cool afternoon with fans wearing jackets and sweatshirts and a stiff wind blowing into the hitters’ faces, the Roadrunners jumped on the Patriots in the bottom of the first.
They scored three runs on three hits, two walks and a wild pitch by Patriots starter Ryan Borberg.
With the bases loaded and only one out, Arquette bounced a single up the middle to score the first two runs.
Christian Hallmark followed with a bouncer through the right side to make it 3-0.
In essence, the inning served as a microcosm of how the Roadrunners won the series against a perennial NCAA tournament team.
They laid off pitches out of the strike zone. They took the walks when they could and then capitalized with timely hitting.
“Really it’s just trusting your approach, trusting your eyes and just not trying to do too much,” Arquette said. “Get a pitch that you can handle, and if they don’t give it to you, take the free pass.
“Because,” he added, “we can hit. So we’re going to capitalize on pitchers’ mistakes.”
The Patriots out-hit the Roadrunners 10-9, the second time on the weekend that they had more hits than the home team and still lost.
Their problem stemmed from the disparity in walks and how the Roadrunners took advantage of it.
They Patriots issued eight free passes, compared to only three combined by Dove and Brown.
Four of the eight UTSA players who walked ended up scoring. DBU, by contrast, didn’t score with any of its three who reached via the base on ball.
Dove said he felt good and tried to just throw as many strikes as possible, and then let the defense do the work.
“And they played great (behind me) today,” said Dove, who struck out six batters and walked one.
In the fifth inning, the Patriots scored their first run of the game when Jake Bennett delivered an RBI double down the left field to make it 4-1.
Afterward, Hallmark came out to the mound to tell his starting pitcher that the next batter, Tryon, would be the last one he’d face.
But after Dove struck out Tryon, he signaled to the dugout that he’d like to pitch to the next batter, Krauss, the preseason Player of the Year in Conference USA.
Dove was granted his wish, and then he retired Krauss on a long fly ball to left.
“I thought I had him,” Dove said. “I wanted to compete against him. Thanks to coach Hallmark for letting me get the opportunity right there.”
Looking into looming challenges for the Roadrunners, the Bobcats in San Marcos and then the Astros Classic in Houston next weekend, Dove said there’s “definitely” more work to be done.
“We’re starting to figure out our identity a little bit,” he said. “But it’s going to be tested again on Tuesday and this weekend, and we’ll see how we handle it from there.”
Records
Dallas Baptist 4-3
UTSA 7-0
Coming up
UTSA at Texas State, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Notable
The Patriots haven’t been swept in a three-game series since March 3-5 in 2023 when they lost three straight to the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in Hattiesburg.
